Texas has reopened grant applications for businesses that can show their sales dropped for a full year during the pandemic. The state first launched the "Texas Travel Industry Recovery Program" last summer.
ARPA funds are paying for the program, and Texas has a total of $180 million available. The money could provide $20,000 grants to 9,000 businesses, but the state reopened applications February 1 when not enough applications had been approved.
"I think it's great the State of Texas is dedicating money this way, and the fact that when they did not reach their target of grants, they said, 'We're coming back out again because we think Texas businesses need this money,'" says John Fletcher, who has been helping businesses with applications. "I think that's very admirable, and I think that's another good example of why Texas is seen as a business-friendly state."
Fletcher says many businesses are being rejected for grants because they are making mistakes on paperwork.
"You've got to be patient. You've got to read those directions, watch the video," he says. "If you pay an awful lot of attention, you're going to probably be fine, but it takes a great amount of attention to detail."
Fletcher says the most common mistake he sees is tax documents that are not signed when they submit them to the state. People can file documents electronically with the IRS, but Texas requires a signature on the forms.
"It needs to be signed, and it needs to be dated on each of those forms. If you don't do it, it's coming back," he says. "People get frustrated because it might bounce back two or three or four times. Quite frankly, that's why people use people like me because I can shorten the process. I know what they're looking for."
While Fletcher says business owners have had success with him, he says people have also been successful on their own when they provide all the necessary details. Among those details is an opportunity to write a "narrative" of up to a thousand characters.
"Your goal is to have that person fall in love with your company, with your story and to have empathy for you and to want to see you get that grant," Fletcher says.
He says he has helped people craft a narrative that provides details about the negative impact COVID had on their business, providing stats and receipts to back up claims made in the narrative. He says the narrative should also include how owners used money to prevent the spread of COVID and how disruptions in the business led to a drop in sales.
He says the narrative should also be written to include how the applicant would use grant money for things like rent, bills and payroll.
IRS forms from the past three years must be included, and grants are only eligible to private businesses, not public companies. Fletcher does say people who own individual franchises of a public company can apply for grants.
He says many small business owners may not have known they are eligible for grants during the first round of applications, or may not have known their NAICS code, which is required for the application.
"Some people went, 'Oh, so I missed that, but you're going to give me another chance?'" he says. "They're not allowing people to double up and apply for a second grant, but they are allowing people who didn't realize the potential is there to now apply."
Grants are available for restaurants, bars, wineries and distilleries. They are also available for privately owned arts and entertainment businesses, RV parks and hotels.
Grants are only available for privately-owned companies, but Fletcher says individuals who own franchises of a publicly-traded company could still be eligible.
Businesses must show sales dropped during the pandemic. Fletcher says businesses could still be eligible even if they turned a profit. They must also have been operating before January 20, 2020 and still be open now.
More information and a complete list of eligible businesses is available online. John Fletcher can be reached at (817) 205-2334 or john@thefletch.org.
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